Ghost Recon Wildlands full details reviewed in info blowout

Let’s kicks things off with the Ghost Recon Wildlands story. Set in the not-too-distant future in the South American country of Bolivia, the narrative revolves around the violent Santa Blanca drug cartel and the chaos they’ve caused in the region. Their stranglehold over the region has given them great power, which has led to a global threat from an area that’s become known as the biggest cocaine producer in the world.

This is where the Ghosts come in. The U.S. Special Forces team step in to bring peace and help to take down what’s now become a corrupt government working alongside the cartel and stabilize the region through stealth and brutal force.

Ghost Recon Wildlands development

Ubisoft began work on the game in 2012, and no fewer than six studios have been involved: Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Annecy, Bucharest, Montepellier, Milan and Reflections. However, it was three years before it was officially revealed during the E3 2015 press conference with a stunning Ghost Recon Wildlands trailer. We learned that a new proprietary engine was specifically built for the game, though Ubisoft hasn’t put a name to it, and that the team spent weeks in Bolivia, where the game is set, scouting out environments to help with design, while speaking to the locals about the area to gain precious insights.

Ghost Recon Wildlands gameplay

Unlike previous games in the series, the new Ghost Recon for PS4 benefits from open-world design, where players have a lot of tactical freedom. In our Ghost Recon Wildlands impressions video from E3 2016 we talked about the fact that there’s no linear progression, but you can jump into missions in any order you wish in a world that’s even more vast than Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, two of Ubisoft’s other triple-A franchises.

The third-person shooter follows mini-story arcs relating to different drug lords in the region, including Head of Trafficking, La Reina De La Belleza, and Head of Influence, El Cardenal, which look likely to tie in with the main story arc surrounding the Santa Blanca cartel boss. These objectives involve assassinating targets, taking over strongholds and teaming up with local rebels to overthrow the opposition. Players can use drones for surveillance to tag outposts, or can use them as weapons, and will have an explosive arsenal to choose from, which will be fully customizable. They’ll also be the ability to traverse land, air and sea with various modes of transport.

Some of the locations in the game include:

Jungle
Lakes
Mines
Canyon
Highlands
Coca plantation

The full Ghost Recon Wildlands map was revealed in a YouTube video earlier this year.

Ghost Recon Wildlands multiplayer

You can play on your own with three customizable AI teammates, or play with friends and jump straight into four player online competitive multiplayer co-op. There will be no PvP mode.

Ghost Recon Wildlands beta

If you want to get into the action early, then you’ll be please to know there’s a closed beta coming up. You can register for it at the official Ubisoft website. This will be a closed beta so you’ll need to put your name down to take part, but there will be an open beta in due course. A release date for the beta has yet to be 100% confirmed.

Ghost Recon Wildlands trailer

The latest trailer for the game gives us a glance at what’s coming up in the beta. Here, Ubisoft takes us through a mission briefing which will be in playable form shortly for those who sign-up for duty.

Ghost Recon Wildlands release date

The latest Ghost Recon game will launch on March 7, 2016 on PS4, Xbox One and PC, and we’re not expecting any delays.

Ghost Recon games

The series has a massive history with the original game, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon launching in 2001, which was followed by no less than 12 titles in the series, some of which didn’t appear on PlayStation platforms. Check out the Ghost Recon games that have already launched.